From the Mouths of Babes
by Quitealiar
Summary: To save a little girl they care for, two women will become unlikely allies. But it's what happens after the rescue when things really get weird.
1. Chapter 1

Milla Meier was well known in Hammelburg. She was always running various donation drives for the war effort, and she sold lovely, if a bit amateurish decorations. Her family had moved into Hammelburg not long after the war began. She was caring and exuberant and was just the image of a sweet little girl. She'd even come to the camp a few times and made the guards feel a bit more upbeat. She was one of those people who just cares about everyone. She was even nice to the prisoners.

Hilda smiled at the little blonde girl, who cheerily waved in response. She walked over to Milla, smiling when she saw the table of sweets clearly for sale. It was a pretty pitiful bake sale given how hard ingredients were to get with all the rationing, but it was a nice idea anyway.

Hilda decided to take pity and buy something, when all of a sudden a familiar man came up to the table.

"Hello, Fraulein Meier," he spoke. She babbled a response back. Hilda tried to remember how she knew him. "Or should I say, Alice?" Both girls frowned, though only one in genuine confusion.

"I'm sorry Herr Kappel, I don't know what you mean." Milla spoke, blue eyes holding only confusion.

"Are the Allies truly so desperate as to use child spies now?" He spoke, and Hilda gasped. She remembered him now. Milla's eyes widened and she started to shake.

"Please sir, I don't know what you mean!" She pleaded, starting to cry.

"Is this really necessary?" Hilda interjected, feeling sorry for the girl. The man scowled.

"Do not concern yourself with such matters, Fraulein. This is Gestapo business." She stepped back, unwilling to leave, but frightened at the prospect of interfering with the Gestapo.

The man grabbed Milla by the upper arm and yanked her out of her chair. He started dragging her to his car. She struggled at first, but wasn't strong enough to do anything. He slapped her across the face for it, and she bared her teeth for a second before arranging her face into a look of fear. It wasn't exactly fake.

Hilda watched the scene in horror. She couldn't believe that this was happening. She'd seen arrests before, violent ones even, but to arrest a little girl? How could they even think it?

Her thoughts were running wild. She didn't know what to do. Everyone knew what the Gestapo were like. She just couldn't let them torture a sweet girl like that. Even if she were guilty of something.

The men at the camp! She could go to them. She wasn't stupid. She knew that they could do something. They were good men, even if they were supposed to be enemies. Surely they would want to save an innocent child, especially if she were one of their own!

She had been headed home, but she could tell them tomorrow. Or could it even wait that long? Maybe it would be best if they got the word now. She could always pretend she'd left something at work if anyone asked.

She forced herself to act calm, and continue walking for several paces before casually looking down into her bag. She feigned surprise, turning quickly, ready to head back to camp.

* * *

She was just before the gates when a small hand wrapped about her mouth, stopping her from letting out the scream she wanted to. Without warning, she was yanked down into the brush. She was then grasped by the hand and led further into the tree line, one hand still over her mouth.

When they were free to stand up, she saw that her assailant was a woman, her short blonde hair in a stylish curly look. She had an intense look on her face.

"You are looking to contact the Underground through the camp, yes?" She asked. Hilda shook her head, trying to keep to her story.

"Do not lie. You saw someone get arrested and then you head to an Underground location you have no business being at." Hilda hesitated.

"If you go there you will only put her and everyone else at more risk. If anyone thinks she has a connection to the camp, it will be much worse for her." That made sense. Hilda shook off the hand.

"But someone must do something! She's innocent!" The other woman shook her head.

"She is far from innocent. That is the the problem."

"That's not my point!" Hilda hissed.

"We are trying. We do not want her hurt either. But we cannot involve the camp. There is no time anyway for them to make some elaborate plan." She looked pained as she said her next words. "It is a shame. Without them, her chances are not good." Hilda rather felt like stomping her foot like a child as she spoke.

"But we must do something!"

"I am alone on this mission. If you are willing..." The woman trailed off. "Well another pair of hands can't hurt." Hilda hesitated. It was one thing to turn a blind eye to a little spying. It was another to actually help. Still, she could be arrested for either, and she wasn't the type to let a child suffer.

"Alright. For Milla." The women smiled grimly.

"Oui. For Milla."

* * *

They tromped through the woods, heading for the safe house. Hilda looked up at the other woman curiously.

"What can I call you?" She asked, knowing better than to ask for a name. The woman looked at her suspiciously anyway.

"Tiger," She finally said.

"Alright," she said. "I'm Hilda."

"Yes, I know. You are the secretary at the camp."

"Yes, I am," Hilda spoke. She wasn't particularly surprised Tiger knew that. Someone was always keeping tabs on you nowadays. They trudged further through the underbrush, and Hilda heard running water. Looking around, she realized they were nearing a lake on the outskirts of town.

Tiger led Hilda to a rather rundown cottage a ways away from the lake. They entered, and though it was much more habitable inside, it still was clearly not in the best shape. The paint on the walls was faded to the point that no color was recognizable and the furniture looked one wrong move away from falling apart. Hilda wasn't sure if all Underground houses were like this, or if this was one they felt they could abandon if she turned on them. She was leaning toward the latter.

"I need to contact someone. Stay here." Tiger instructed. Hilda nodded, and Tiger headed up the small staircase.

Hilda took the opportunity to examine the room further. It appeared to be a small living room. A gutted radio stood on a table in the middle of the room. A bookcase with a few scattered books stood against the far wall. A door next to it led into a kitchen, which a quick glance revealed was surprisingly well stocked.

It wasn't long before Tiger came back down the stairs.

"I have radioed for help, but I am not hopeful we can get anything."

"May I ask, what was Milla arrested for?" Hilda spoke. She still couldn't quite believe that girl had done anything.

"She is a spy. We did not want to involve her initially, but she was persistent and it's true we are desperate."

"Why would she be so invested?" Hilda wondered aloud.

"Her name is not Milla Meier. Her family is not real. She is an American, visiting a family friend and trapped here when the war broke out."

"Oh my!" Hilda exclaimed.

"The Underground provided them with papers. She and her sister speak German fluently, so we kept them here. There were too many refugees to get them all out."

"So she wants to help her country," Hilda surmised.

"Yes. Apparently, her father serves, and she worries about him." That was understandable. Hilda knew many people who had gone to serve and she was always worrying for their sakes, and she wasn't a little girl. Milla must have felt helpless being so young.

"So her real name is Alice?" Hilda questioned, remembering Kappel's words.

"No," Tiger shook her head. "That is her code name. From the story "Alice in Wonderland." We do not know her real name. It would be too easy to put each other in danger if we did."

Hilda nodded. Hadn't she thought Tiger would use a fake name when they were introducing themselves?

Just then a bang came from the kitchen. Tiger shot Hilda an angry look, and Hilda shook her head at her. She hadn't alerted anyone! How could she in such short time. The only way was if someone else had been following her.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A voice rang out.


	2. Chapter 2

Hilda turned to Tiger in confusion. That was a woman's voice. She saw that Tiger had relaxed at the words. She turned to greet the matronly woman who entered the room.

"Hilda, this is Liesel Schmidt. She runs all the safehouses in this area. Liesel, this is Hilda." Liesel frowned at the girls.

"Yes, I know. You work up at the camp." She turned to Tiger, brandishing a thin folder. "I brought everything we know about their case against Milla."

"How?" Hilda wondered. Liesel frowned again.

"You sure about her, Tiger?" She asked.

"I just want to help Milla," she spoke. Tiger looked at her curiously.

"She already keeps quiet about the boys in the camp. And I don't believe she wants a child to be hurt."

"No. I won't tell anyone." Hilda assured her.

"Speaking of the boys at camp, what about your boy? You gettin' him involved in this?" Liesel asked. Hilda raised her eyebrows. So Tiger had been to the camp. Which boy did Liesel mean? There were a number of possibilities. But the way she was talking Hilda could make a guess.

"No. Their plans take too long and we need to get her out now." Tiger said.

"Alright. But personally, I don't think you're getting her out at all without them. Not from the Gestapo."

"We don't need to bust her out. We need to prove her innocence."

At the new voice, all three women turned to the door. There stood Col. Hogan, his typical grin on his face.

"I'm hurt. Come on Tiger. You think we're not going to notice you when you're right outside the gates? The guards maybe, but not my guys." And his typical arrogance.

"So what's going on?" He started walking toward Tiger when he suddenly caught sight of Hilda.

"Hey, Hilda," he spoke, an odd undertone in his voice. Tiger and Hilda exchanged a look. Both of them could guess what the situation was here. Despite their continued flirtation with the man, they both knew how he was. Both would admit to a little jealousy, but knowing that and knowing the girl was more important, they put it aside for the moment.

"Hello, Col. Hogan. You should not be here," Hilda teased. "Though I always expected something like this." He chuckled, and Hilda went on.

"I want to help the little girl.".

"Little girl?" he questioned, a note of concern in his voice.

"She saw Milla Meier arrested this morning." Tiger said. A strange look passed over his face. He was clearly worried for Milla. He wasn't the type to let an innocent kid suffer but this seemed odd somehow. Likely he'd met her through the Underground and befriended her.

"Well," he said, shaking off the mood. "That makes it even easier. The higher-ups may be paranoid, but they're not that paranoid."

"No, that won't work." Liesel shook her head. "We have information that they've been onto her for nearly two weeks now. They knew."

"Then we must deflect suspicion." Tiger spoke up. Hilda glanced between the three spies as they discussed possibilities. She didn't know what Tiger had thought she could do. She could barely keep up with this conversation.

"If we can make them suspect someone else…"

"Weeks of data..."

"...can't. That'll just hurt…" The words bounced back and forth, the file strewn on the nearest flat surface and examined.

"Wait a minute," Liesel spoke. "Some of these missions are wrong. She wasn't on these assignments." It wasn't uncommon for this to happen. Explanations given by torture tended to not be the most honest, just streams of information they thought they should say. The Underground usually went with it. It took the pressure off the real perpetrators if the Germans thought they had caught them already. But they could use this to cast suspicion.

"How do you know?" Hilda asked. Liesel glanced at her.

"I've got a good memory for these things. And these happened during school hours. We almost never used her then. Too suspicious."

"We could contact the teacher. Maybe she can prove this?" Tiger suggested.

"Maybe." Hogan mused "It's a long shot that she'll be willing to tell the Gestapo they're wrong, but it's worth a try."

"Well there's no time to waste. Hogan, let's you and I head out," Liesel said. Hogan looked back at the girls briefly before nodding. They were the only two who could do it. Hilda was only technically working with them and Tiger was too high-profile.

Hogan quickly dressed in civilian clothes and the two went out. Tiger turned to Hilda uncertainly.

"I see you are a… friend of Hogan as well." Tiger said. Hilda worried her bottom lip. She was a little jealous, definitely. Okay, maybe a lot. It was one thing to guess that Hogan had other relationships; it was another to actually meet her.

"Yes. I must admit if you are an example his other 'friends' are quite lovely." Tiger laughed.

"Yes, he has many such 'friends.'" She said.

"I'm not honestly surprised." Hilda said. She knew she had a possessive streak, and she certainly enjoyed being someone he could see any day, but she had never thought he was anything other than what he was. Deep down, she knew this was just something he did for information and fun and she was okay with that. It was fun for her too.

"No. Neither am I." But Tiger looked troubled. Hilda imagined she looked the same. She wasn't really sure what to do about it. She felt bad, but would she want comfort from Tiger in this situation? She wasn't sure.

"Would you like to keep going over the files? We will need more than this to get Milla out." Tiger suggested.

"All right." Hilda walked back around to the table, again unsure what she could do. She didn't know anything about this work. But she did know a lot about secretarial work. Perhaps she could find some error there.

They settled into a decently comfortable silence, occasionally suggesting ideas back and forth.

"You know the guard Schultz?" Tiger said suddenly.

"Yes. He guards the boys' barracks. You've met him?" Hilda was surprised. She knew that Schultz had a tendency to claim ignorance of the schemes at camp, but this seemed extreme, even for him.

"I was in the barracks once. He walked right in, saw me, and I swear, he nearly died." She giggled. "He was so alarmed!" Hilda smiled. She could imagine the scene. Every time the men pushed it a little further, he claimed he would have to tell, but he never did.

The conversation moved from there into a discussion of the various men in camp both girls had met. They stayed away from the sticky topic, but there was still much gossiping possible.

With conversation flowing, it wasn't long before Hogan and Liesel got back. The girls looked up expectantly. Hogan shook his head.

"No good. She's scared, refuses to talk. We need to find another way." The three spies went back to discussing the merits of various plans, but Hilda was distracted. There was something bothering her about the file, she just couldn't figure it out.

"We've got all their records," Liesel was saying, when all of sudden, it clicked.

"Records!" Hilda burst out. "The school would have records of her attendance! If she really wasn't on these missions, this will prove it." The other three turned to her.

"Right," Hogan said. "Good job, Hilda. We still need more, but that's good." Hilda beamed. Maybe she could do something here after all.


	3. Chapter 3

At the safe house, the girls were talking. They had discussed the plans as best they could already and had moved on to new topics. They carefully skirted one topic, getting a bit closer this time. Hilda took a sip from her glass, laughing lightly.

"So, you've seen him with his men, of course?"

"Yes?" Tiger said, wondering where this was going.

"Have you notice he's… How can I put this? With them, he acts like the parent of a bunch of wayward boys!" Tiger started laughing as well.

"Oh, all due respect and everything, but still! Once, they were doing something by the gates, playing around. And he kept reprimanding them and everything, but it was always with the fondest look on his face, like an indulgent parent. I had to duck back into the office to keep from laughing right there."

"Oh no," Tiger laughed. "I will never be able to stop imagining this now."

"I know," Hilda gestured with her glass. "I can't either. It's honestly distressing."

"Speaking of Hogan," Tiger began. Hilda leaned in expectantly. And well, they spent a good chunk of time demonstrating why you don't want two people you've been involved with to meet.

Meanwhile, Milla was curled up in a corner of her cell. One of the guards had taken pity and given her his jacket to use as a blanket. They weren't fans of guarding a little girl, especially when she was scared and crying- which wasn't exactly fake.

She'd been asked a few questions, which she knew better than to answer. No one was really eager to interrogate her.

"I've told you, I'm in charge of investigating this ring of children!" A familiar voice rang out. Milla poked her head up.

"I understand that sir, but I can't just allow you to talk to the girl unsupervised!" Another man, the one who'd interrogated her earlier, replied.

"Uh, sir, sir." A young man, she couldn't see his rank, ran up. "A general is calling for you, colonel." The first man sighed as though put upon. The colonel (thought really both men held that rank) looked uncertain before sighing as well.

"All right, go ahead. But only until I get back!" He warned, turning away. Colonel Hogan promptly hurried to the cell, catching sight of Milla right away. He sighed again, more genuine this time.

"Damn it. This is exactly why I said they shouldn't involve you. I knew they couldn't keep a kid safe!" Milla gave him a defiant look, before turning more apologetic.

"Look kid, we're getting you out of here. We've got a plan in the works, and someone'll ship you to England for the rest of the war."

"I don't want to!" Milla shouted, careful of what she said.

"Well you can't stay here. Frankly, I don't care what you want. Kids like you need to stay out of this war." Milla was petulant.

"They hurt you?" Hogan looked concerned. Milla shrugged.

"Kappel and that man with you slapped me a bit, but nothing bad." Hogan looked down, anger in his eyes.

"Can't believe they stooped this low. People don't hurt kids."

It was at that moment the colonel came back towards the cells.

"And when we get the paperwork in, you and all your co-conspirators are coming with me, where we know how to deal with you." Hogan said loudly.

"As I said sir, we are trying to get this worked out." The other said, sighing heavily. "One of my men just gave me a report. We have school records that interfere with her supposed missions."

"Oh?" Hogan asked.

"Ah, it's no matter. We still have enough on her to prove she's Underground."

"Good," Hogan said, looking like he meant the opposite.

"We can't do it! We can't prove her innocent and there's no way to deflect suspicion without others of our people getting arrested." Liesel said. Tiger nodded in agreement.

"We need a new plan. We tried, but they have too much information on her."

"Then we need to implicate someone _not_ in the Underground." Hogan grinned.

"We can't subject an innocent person to the Gestapo!"

"Not unless they are Gestapo," Hogan said.

"How?" Hilda asked. Hogan grinned.

"I think it's time Stalag 13 held its next party."

Colonel Klink sighed heavily. This recent business in town was a mess. Since the girl was arrested, the Gestapo had been cracking down on rebellion. Everyone was panicking over their associations and any doubt. Why even he had just received a phone call from some Gestapo major about his association with the girl. It was at that moment Colonel Hogan came through the door.

"Why the long face?" He wondered as he entered.

"Colonel Hogan, I do not have time to deal with you today. The Gestapo are investigating everyone in town."

"Since the little girl? Whoo, that's a surprise. She never seemed the type."

"You knew her?" Klink caught onto his words. He had him! Hogan cringed overdramatically.

"Oh, you got me sir. Yeah, I met her a few times."

"Ah-ha! Getting messages from her?"

"Oh, alright. A few of the men did. But they weren't to help escape, honest! We know better than that, sir."

"Mhmm. You know, just today, she confessed to passing messages in this very camp. Believe me, there will be severe punishment for anyone who accepted them."

"Oh, understandable, sir. But what about you?"

"Me?" Colonel Klink looked alarmed.

"Well yeah, she snuck those notes past you. All of us wouldn't want anything to happen because of us."

"You think something might happen?" Klink asked.

"Oh, I wouldn't know sir."

"Oh, that's exactly what I was afraid of."

"If only there was some way to show them you're on their side, cheer them up. You know those guys always seem like they could do to unwind a bit."

"That's it! I will host a party for them! Remind them I'm with them and show them how well we run this camp. Then they'll know I'm on their side!"

"Oh, very clever sir. I don't know how you do it!"

"Oh, _Hauptmann_ Kappel! It's so good to see you again!" Hilda hurried over to the man in question.

"Ah, yes. _Fraulein_ …" He trailed off.

"Call me Hilda," she said. "I must apologize for my behavior the other day. I'll admit I was alarmed when I saw the spy was a child. It caused me to overreact. I understand now that people like her must be arrested for the good of Germany!"

"Yes, it is a disturbing case. Rest assured, we won't hold it against you."

"Oh, thank you, _Hauptmann._ " She looked down, fluttering her lashes. "Now that's cleared up, I would love to get to know you better…"

While she was distracting Kappel, Newkirk slipped by. He carefully slipped a radio into a precarious position on Kappel. Hilda asked Kappel to dance.

As they moved to the dance floor, Carter pointed towards them while he was talking to Schultz.

"Look!" Schultz followed his finger, just in time to see the radio fall to the ground. In her next motion, Hilda stumbled over it.

"Oh my! A radio!" She feigned a look of distress. "One of the prisoners must have dropped it!" Kappel frowned.

"You should turn that in immediately."

"Yes, I will. Colonel Klink is just over there."

Shortly later, Colonel Klink and Major Hochstetter were gathered in the former's office.

"I don't understand! The prisoners are usually so well-behaved," Klink moaned.

"This proves there is something going on in this camp!" Hochstetter shouted. "I will find out what is going on here, Klink."

Just then, the radio began making noise. Both men leaned toward it instinctively, and Hochstetter grabbed a paper from Klink's desk. He copied down the message, and Klink leaned over to see it.

"What does it say?"

"It's in code, you idiot. I will transcribe it at my office. It looks to be about a meeting. We have them now!"


	4. An end Or is it a beginning?

Major Hochstetter was even more excited when he decoded the message. This would not only lead to the discovery of the camp's spies, but also the elusive spy Tiger! All he needed to do was send his men to capture her the next night.

But wait. That was when the girl was supposed to be transported to the head of the investigation in Berlin. It occurred to him that the prisoners were quite tricky. This could very well be a trap to free the girl.

But how much harm could a little girl cause? So much as to risk this chance? Well, he had many men. He could always spread them out between the girl and the woman. It would reduce the ideal number of guards for transporting the girl, but there would still be several to keep her captive. And the Underground couldn't free the girl without implicating themselves.

Yes he could turn this trick around. The Underground was feeling bold, risking two of their agents. But he was smarter than they were.

Tiger, Hogan, and Hilda sat around the table as Liesel decoded the radio transmission they'd just received.

"Yes!" She said. "Our man on the inside reports that Hochstetter took the bait. He's sending men out to investigate the false lead." All three grinned.

"Now here's where it gets tricky." Hogan said. "We need to free Milla without implicating ourselves."

"I thought that's what the radio was for? So Hauptmann Kappel would be implicated?" Hilda asked. She still didn't quite get the hang of this whole thing.

"Right, Hilda. Kappel will be escorting her. We need to make the other guards think he's in on it."

"He will surely protest," Tiger mused.

"That's where my guys come in." Hogan glanced at Hilda, unsure how much he should reveal. After all, they were all still using their codenames for one another. "One of my men is great at voices. We'll gag Kappel, so he can't speak then Tiger and him will act out a little scene."

"Tiger? I thought Tiger needed to be seen for the false lead to work." Hilda asked. The others exchanged a look. This is where things got tricky.

"Actually, Hilda. We have another part for you to play," Liesel began gently. Hilda reminded her of herself, knowing things were wrong, but unwilling or unable to change it. "We need someone who can look like Tiger from behind. We don't have access to most of our agents, they have… something else to do. They don't have a great description of Tiger. They should just be looking for a blonde woman talking to men she shouldn't."

"But that will implicate me!"

"No, we've got a plan." Hogan assured her. "You don't need to be out after curfew or anywhere you're not legally allowed to be. Just somewhere girls like you don't usually frequent. Just play the role of 'girl with a crush going too far.' Act like you're just there to flirt. As long as the agents don't see your face, they should think you're a threat. As soon as they do, they'll know you aren't. You won't even be the only woman there, so they can't assume you're with us. Especially since this is your only mission."

Hilda bit her lip. She knew that this plan could fall apart without her doing this, but she really didn't like the risk she was taking. She glanced at Tiger and Hogan, both of whom looking like they needed her to do this, and she sighed.

"Alright. I will do it."

"Why did you trust me?" Hilda asked Tiger afterwards. The two girls were alone, Liesel and Hogan having gone to make arrangements. "You took a big risk contacting me."

"It was necessary. Hochstetter has a personal vendetta against that camp. You know that. If he thought the girl was connected with them- and she is, a bit- he would have gone after her viciously. We never would have gotten the chance to save her. Besides I know her fairly well. I know things about her she wouldn't generally share. After what I know, after what she's done, I couldn't leave her alone."

"I couldn't either. That girl has a pull. She's very good at charming her way into your heart."

"Much like someone else I know." Hilda rolled her eyes at the mention of the man.

"Yes, he is very charming. And handsome," She quirked an eyebrow. An indescribable look passed over Tiger's face.

"Yes, I suppose that applies to him too." Too? Hilda frowned. She still didn't have an answer to her question.

"I mean it though. Why did you know you could trust me?"

"Well, we do have files on you. I didn't think you were the type to let a child suffer, and after watching your reaction to the girl's arrest…" Hilda started. She hadn't realized Tiger had been there. "I had to follow you to make sure you didn't put her in more danger."

"But really, I didn't know I could trust you. I still don't. But I do know that I like you." Hilda suddenly realized how close the two of them were standing. She hadn't noticed how she was staring into Tiger's eyes. Better look at something else. She glanced down, and immediately regretted it. Looking back up, she saw Tiger watching her lips. It was too much for her, and she leaned in to kiss her.

Hilda really hated this. She had always enjoyed flirting with men to get her way- sometimes going even farther. It was fun, she had met many men she was attracted to doing it. But this was the opposite of fun. This time it was more important than a mere distraction or favor. This time a young girl's life was in danger.

Still, she kept it up, making sure to keep her face turned away from the men immediately identifiable as Gestapo agents. She flirted her damn head off, before she finally saw that it was time. She could reveal herself. They should have gotten Milla away by now, and she'd adding an extra pocket of time just in case.

Before she could turn though, a man came up behind her. She whirled around to face Major Hochstetter and grinned sheepishly.

"Major!" She said. "How nice to see you here!"

"Fraulein Hilda?" He demanded. "What are you doing here?'

"I know this isn't my usual scene, but," She glanced helplessly at the men at the table behind her. "Well, I think you understand." Hochstetter grumbled and stalked away. Hilda felt simultanroius flashes of relief and fear pass through her before she noticed the man direct his attention to another blonde.

She turned back and kept flirting a while longer, just to be certain.

Afterwards, and after taking a long winding trail to evade any detection, she headed back to the safehouse. Hogan, Tiger, and the the little girl were seated in the main room. Hilda rushed over instinctively to make sure the child was alright.

"Milla!" She said. "Everything went alright?" She noticed a nasty bruise on the girl's cheek and felt a swell of anger.

"It went off without a hitch! Since I'm not going to get another chance to do this, I wanted to say thanks Hilda." Hogan said, triumphant.

"Why, you're very welcome Colonel Hogan. Though that is quite a poor thank you." Hilda flirted. Hogan looked to Tiger, alarmed, but she didn't look up from her files. Hogan- fairly reluctantly, though Hilda didn't take any offense- leaned in and kissed her. The girl frowned. Hilda wondered if- somehow- she'd picked up on the energy in the room.

Hilda then walked over and sat beside Tiger, draping herself over the other woman's lap and leaning in to kiss her. She couldn't avoid a quick glance at Hogan, who had his eyes wide in surprise.

"I think he's speechless," Tiger murmured.

"A first for the record books," Hilda agreed. The two women laughed, content in the knowledge that those they cared about were safe- for now at least.


	5. Chapter 5

Ro sighed as she stalked through the woods. She'd been assigned to come collect Joan after her cover had been blown. She was relatively safe. Their Underground agent had sent out a false file with the wrong picture so that no one other than the Gestapo agents in town would know what she looked like. So she could still be safe, and even go on more missions if this experience hadn't scared her off.

Ro rather hoped it would have. She hated the thought of her sister being in danger but she hadn't been able to dissuade her from her desire to help. Perhaps a taste of that danger would finally convince her.

"Cinderella?" She heard her code name being called out and responded automatically.

"Papa Bear?" A man came out of a thicket and whistled when he saw her.

"Well, they're sending you girls out younger and younger, aren't they?" He asked. "With that little one, and now you. You even full grown?"

"I am an adult, if that's what you're asking." She said.

"Alright darling, come on." She followed the man to a tree stump, confused, until it opened up. Her eyes went wide. She'd heard the men at this POW camp were both incredibly brilliant and incredibly reckless, but she hadn't realized just how much of both they were until now.

"Risky," she said.

"Unimaginable," the man said. She supposed he had a point. Who checks tree stumps in the middle of the woods to see if they're real?

They climbed down and walked through a tunnel. They were silent until they entered a large room. Ro saw Joan sitting on a bunk talking with some men and she smiled relieved and rushed over.

"Don't you do that to me again!" She demanded. "We've already lost mom and dad. I can't lose you too."

"Sorry Ro." Joan muttered and Ro pulled her in for a hug. She'd caught sight of the bruise on Joan's cheek and had to hug her or she'd kill someone.

"So, Ro, huh?" A black man spoke. Ro was surprised, as she didn't think they kept black prisoners with white ones. She spoke hastily to make it clear she had no grudge against him for his skin.

"Yes. Short for Roberta." She was about to continue with her last name, but she caught sight of Joan's wide eyes. She knew her sister well enough to know she was telling her to keep quiet. Did she think they couldn't trust these men for some reason?

"Nice to meet ya," The man who'd brought her in said. "Names Peter Newkirk." The black man spoke next.

"I'm James Kinchloe, but you can call me Kinch." The last man in the group then spoke.

"Andrew Carter, miss."

"Nice to meet you all. Thank you for saving my sister."

"Ah it's what we do," Carter said. "Besides, we didn't do too much. If anyone you should thank Tiger and Colonel Hogan."

"Who?" Ro asked, convinced she'd heard wrong.

"Tiger is a French spy," Kinch said. "And the Colonel is Robert Hogan, our commanding officer." Ro's eyes went wide and she realized what Joan had been trying to tell her before. It couldn't be. What were the odds?

She braced herself for anything and spoke.

"Well, I'd love to do just that. Is he around?"

"He's up in the camp. We can't have too many people down here or the guards will get suspicious." Carter said. "I'll go get him."

Ro, Joan and the other two men made polite conversation as Carter went upstairs as it were.

"You say you've lost your parents?" Newkirk asked at one point. Ro tried not to cringe.

"Yes. Mom died a few years back, and Dad's not dead, but he's Air Force. Never around, could die anytime, you know."

"I'm sorry." They kept quiet for a moment, contemplating things. That was when someone came down the ladder. Ro kept quiet, trying not to be in shock as her conclusion was proven true.

As he turned around and made eye contact with her, she saw the shock he kept contained to his eyes. She figured she had much the same look on her face. Because she recognized him for certain now.

 _Dad?_


	6. Chapter 6

Hogan had been thinking a lot lately about Katie. Understandable, as the child they'd made together was now in danger. They'd never loved each other. She'd been a fun fling when he was young, and then she got pregnant. Well, he wasn't about to just abandon her. He did the right thing and married her.

Through the years, they'd formed a good partnership, even without love. They'd had their kids and settled into a way of life. Hogan was in the Army Air Corps even then, and they'd been making it work. Then the war broke out. Both of them worried more than the average citizen. Hogan had German relatives and Katie British ones. So they had cause for concern.

Katie had taken the kids out to visit her aunt, Eleanor, in England. She'd been dying and demanded to see them. Katie was also helping to nurse her in her time of trial. That had been their biggest mistake. Katie died in one of the first Blitz attacks on London. Hogan had been frantic and grieving. Even without love, he would miss her. Though he felt a sort of guilty relief at the idea that he wasn't tied to her forever anymore.

More immediately, he needed to know where his children were. Eleanor had assured him they were with family and would be sent back as soon as they were capable of it.

He hadn't seen them since.

He supposed, in a way, finding out Joan had become a spy was a good thing. He'd been able to know she was alive, and ask after her sister and brother. But he wasn't quite ready to accept the idea of his daughter putting herself at risk as a good thing.

As Carter brought him down to meet the girl who was going to take her back to safety, he quit his reminiscing. He headed down the ladder first, turning at the bottom to greet the newcomer.

Oh hell.

Ro kept quiet even as she was screaming on the inside. So this was where Dad had been all this time. She supposed she was glad he wasn't suffering, but she wished she'd known sooner. And she wished he wasn't finding out like this.

"Kinch, Carter, Newkirk? Go check the radio."

"All of us, sir? Is something going on?"

"Just check it."

The three subordinate officers scurried off, wondering what had put Hogan in such a mood.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" Ro kept her voice down, but she might as well have been shouting for all the effect it had.

"I am an adult, I can do these things. You and your sister are just children!"

"I am actually an adult, you know. And at least we have a chance of getting out if we get caught. Nobody hurts kids. You get caught you- it'll be a lot worse!"

"Oh, nobody hurts kids, huh? Then why did I just have to mount a rescue mission to get your sister from the Gestapo?"

"Because you don't trust us to handle this on our own!"

"No, I don't! Because you're children!"

"I am not a child!"

"What are you going to tell me your brother's spying too? Are the allies so desperate they need the help of a seven year old?"

"Of course not. We're not stupid. We got him out."

"So you can recognize the stupidity of that, but not a eleven year old spy?"

"It's not stupid! Kids can do things and hear things adults could never do!" Joan joined the fight.

"I don't care! We don't put kids at risk!" Hogan sunk onto the bunk Joan had just been sitting on.

"Dad…" Ro trailed off. "Look, I'm sorry. But you have to understand why we're doing this. We want this war to be over."

"We want to keep you safe." Joan added, sitting down next to him. Hogan pulled her into a hug.

"As long as this war is going on, none of us are going to be safe."

Hilda snuggled up beside her new girlfriend. She had long known she was interested in both men and women. She had been an active part of queer culture before the war had broken out. Still, it was more dangerous now. They'd have to be very careful if they wanted to get out unscathed.

"Milla's going to be safe right?" She asked. She hadn't seen the girl since after they'd broken her out of Gestapo company.

"Yes. Her sister is coming to get her. I'll be meeting her tomorrow. I'm going to be in town for a few days yet."

"That's nice. Her real sister, right? The one who's stuck here?"

"Oui."

"I was wondering. How does she speak German so well?"

"Her grandmother is German. She immigrated to America as a young woman. The whole family speaks it."

"Oh. She's a good asset for you then?" Hilda felt uncomfortable calling young girl an asset.

"She's a good girl."

Hogan calmed down after a few minutes with his girls. It was so nice to be with his family again, even if they weren't all here.

"Where's your brother now?" He asked.

"With Oma," Joan said.

"And why aren't you?" He asked, more inquisitive than angry now. Before either girl could explain Newkirk came down the ladder.

"Colonel, we've got trouble!"

Hogan jumped up to greet him and Ro followed behind. Joan was quick behind her. Newkirk raised an eyebrow at them but didn't comment.

"Krauts are still mad about not getting Tiger. We've got an escape load coming in and we need a way to get them here safely."

"Get everyone together. We need a plan." Joan pouted at being left behind. Ro held it together better was clearly still annoyed.

"Look's like you're going to have some company girls."

Hogan was distracted at the meeting, and everyone could tell. His plans weren't coming as quickly as they usually did and they weren't as sharp. It was those girls, and everyone knew it, but beyond that they had no clue what was going on.

At the urging of the others, Kinch pulled Hogan aside privately afterwards to talk to him about it.

"What's going on with those girls?" Hogan hesitated before he spoke.

"I've just got a bad feeling about this, is all, Kinch. It's probably nothing."

"Well I trust your instincts." Kinch began to turn away. "And if you wanna tell me what's really going on, you can trust me." Hogan smiled.

"I know, Kinch."

And that was the worst part of this. He did trust his men. He trusted them with his life. But could he trust them with his daughters' lives?

"Do you think we can trust them?" Lebeau asked after Kinch told them what Hogan had said.

"I don't know. Colonel's got to have a reason he's acting weird. But I haven't seen anything that makes me think we can't, except maybe that the girl wasn't tortured. But even the Germans don't want to stoop that low."

"I think they're okay." Carter piped up. "They're so nice, and they seem so angry."

"Angry?" Lebeau questioned.

"No, I get where he's going," Newkirk said. "They're too angry to be traitors. You can't fake that kinda stuff. And the little one, she's the picture of 'the master race' 'cept for that temper. She'd never be a pretty little doll, even if she were German."

"But they won't tell us their names, or anything. They must know they can trust us by now." Lebeau added.

"Must they?" Kinch spoke up. "They needed us at first. That doesn't mean they owe us anything."

Hogan knew he was spending too much time down in the tunnels. But he couldn't help but want to be around his girls. He hadn't seen them in literal years. It broke his heart to think how much he'd missed because of this damn war.

"So you girls were going to tell me why you didn't go back home with Benjy?" He began. Despite the tone, it was not a question. Joan squirmed at his side

"Well, we weren't actually in England when-" she cut herself off sharply.

"When mom… passed." Ro spoke softly. There was a moment of silence. "We were visiting Oma's family in the country."

"They agreed to keep us until we could get back home, but the transports were so full and there was so much paperwork."

"When we finally got tickets we were going to go back home. But there was a family there- Jewish. Two daughters. They needed the tickets more than us."

"So you, what forged passports at the docks?" Hogan asked.

"For the little one, yeah. But my passport was a few years old and the girl looked a bit like me so," Ro shrugged.

"We sent them to Oma with Benjy. When officials asked, we said we'd misplaced our papers. We figured we could get away with that. The girls couldn't escape."

"And that worked?" Hogan asked incredulously.

"For a little while. Then someone realized Benjy had gone home. We almost got arrested, but the Underground saved us."

"Why didn't they send you back?"

"We spoke fluent German, or near enough to it to pass for citizens. As long as we were careful we could stay here with forged documents." Ro said. "They we're going to send us home eventually, but I turned sixteen and joined the Underground and Joanie joined the Girl Guides."

"You're telling me there's a whole troop of you girls?"

"Yeah! The tried to send boys but they were too noisy. They talked all the time." Joan said with pride. Hogan chuckled at her words.

"Well, first, don't ever think I'm not proud of you for helping. But we are definitely having words about you putting yourselves in danger." The girls wrinkled their noses at the prospect of a scolding.

"Now get yourselves to bed."

"Dad I'm an adult. I can go to bed when I want."

"Hey! I'm still your dad, miss. Besides if I have to get up every morning for roll call, you sure aren't getting away with sleeping in." He winked at them and headed up the ladder. They rolled their eyes, but got ready for bed anyway.


End file.
